Tag Archives: spiritual maturity

Have you ever heard the slogan, “Tough times don’t last, but tough people do”? There’s a lot of truth in that. Unfortunately, if tough times last more than a day or two, it begins to feel like they’ll last forever.

Tough times can mean all kinds of things. The death of a loved one, the loss of a job, a relationship gone sour, and other bad events can trigger them. So can more ordinary stresses like loneliness or trouble paying bills, or being unable to make the kinds of changes in our lives we want to make. Eventually, all of us will go through a variety of different bad times.… Read the rest

What could have gone on in Jesus’ mind on Palm Sunday, as he received cheers that he knew would not last. Here was the Lord of the universe, deliberately riding a donkey into an ambush. He knew a judicial miscarriage of justice, an illegal trial followed by an ignominious death, awaited him in less than a week.

Fortunately, we don’t have to wonder what he thought. Paul tells us all we need to know. Jesus was God in human form: the fullness of deity, the maximum portion of being God that his fully human nature and body could hold.

He had laid aside all of his heavenly privileges to accept his humanity.… Read the rest

“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”–1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.

I have had to fight a gloomy mood all my life. Not surprisingly, that has made it difficult for me to understand the concept of joy. How can I be happy and upbeat all the time, when such rotten stuff keeps happening to me? Then I noticed the number of times scriptures say, “rejoice and be glad.”

I can understand being glad to get out of a cold rain into a warm building, even though the rain hasn’t stopped.… Read the rest